St. Luke's Medical Center Builds Heart Tower

St. Luke’s Medical Center is constructing a new 435,000-sf heart tower on its 17-acre Milwaukee campus. Due to space restrictions, the tower will be constructed as an elevated facility over an existing parking structure. Designed by Kahler Slater of Milwaukee, the facility will house 270 beds; 192 beds will accommodate surgical patients and 78 beds will accommodate intensive care patients. All rooms will be private. The tower’s seventh story surgical floor required the elimination of any vibration, necessitating the construction of a separate structure to support the floor that did not touch any electronic or mechanical equipment. Elements of mold control, structural redundancy and moisture control are incorporated into the design. The project contractor is Oscar J. Boldt Construction Co. of Waukesha. Construction began in spring 2001 and is slated for completion in mid-2004. St. Luke’s Medical Center is owned by Aurora Health Care.